India Water Impact Summit

It is an annual event where stakeholders get together to discuss, debate and develop model solutions for some of the biggest water related problems in the country.

It is jointly organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga)

The discussion in 2018 is on rejuvenation of the Ganga River Basin. There will be multi-country dialogue on the subject, with showcasing of technological innovations, research, policy frameworks and funding models from India and abroad.

The objective is to showcase the efforts and works going on within the respective states.

Ganga Financing Forum: The 2018 Summit also introduces the inaugural Ganga Financing Forum that will bring a number of institutions to a common knowledge, information and partnership platform.

The Hybrid Annuity Model has redefined the economic landscape of water and waste-water treatment in India.

All tenders have been successfully bid out and financial closures being achieved. Additionally, the Government is also now encouraging development of smaller decentralised waste water treatment projects.

The Financing Forum will bring together financial institutions and investors interested in Namami Gange programmes.

Technology and Innovation: Implementation of the pilot/demonstration programme known as the Environment Technology Verification (ETV)

This will provide an opportunity to technology and innovation companies from around the world to showcase their solutions for addressing the problems prevalent in the river basin.

Context

Shri Nitin Gadkari was speaking at the three-day long India Water Impact Summit 2018

Green Ganga App

It was developed by Remote Sensing Centre of ISRO

Green Ganga App is used for geo-tagging of saplings and delineation of plantation boundaries under ongoing afforestation activities of Namami Gange programme.

Soil Health Card Scheme

Soil Health Card (SHC) is a Government of India’s scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

A SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments, that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.

What is a Soil Health Card?

SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.

It will contain the status of his soil with respect to 12 parameters, namely

N,P,K (Macro-nutrients) ;

S (Secondary- nutrient) ; Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo

(Micro – nutrients) ; and pH, EC, OC (Physical parameters).

Based on this, the SHC will also indicate fertilizer recommendations and soil amendment required for the farm.

Will the farmer get a card every year and for every crop?

It will be made available once in a cycle of 3 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period.

The SHC given in the next cycle of 3 years will be able to record the changes in the soil health for that subsequent period.

National Integration Tour

The National Integration Tours are educational and motivational tours for youth of Jammu & Kashmir and North Eastern States, with an aim to provide an insight into the rich heritage of the country as well as various developmental and industry initiatives that are underway.

This initiative will expose them to various career options and enable them to interact with renowned personalities.

Child in need of care and protection

The Juvenile Justice Act 2015 defines the child in need of care and protection as under:-

“Child in need of care and protection” means a child –

who is found without any home or settled place of abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence; or

who is found working in contravention of labour laws for the time being in force or is found begging, or living on the street; or

who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person-

has injured, exploited, abused or neglected the child or has violated any other law for the time being in force meant for the protection of child; or

has threatened to kill, injure, exploit or abuse the child and there is a reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out; or

has killed, abused, neglected or exploited some other child or children and there is a reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed, abused, exploited or neglected by that person; or

who is mentally ill or mentally or physically challenged or suffering from terminal or incurable disease, having no one to support or look after or having parents or guardians unfit to take care, if found so by the Board or the Committee; or

who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is found to be unfit or incapacitated, by the Committee or the Board, to care for and protect the safety and well-being of the child; or

who does not have parents and no one is willing to take care of, or whose parents have abandoned or surrendered him; or

who is missing or run away child, or whose parents cannot be found after making reasonable inquiry in such manner as may be prescribed; or

who has been or is being or is likely to be abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts; or

who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking; or

who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains; or

who is victim of or affected by any armed conflict, civil unrest or natural calamity; or

who is at imminent risk of marriage before attaining the age of marriage and whose parents, family members, guardian and any other persons are likely to be responsible for solemnisation of such marriage.”

Context

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is formulating guidelines for children’s hostels, prescribing the minimum standards of care that should be provided to children. This comes in the wake of institutions, housing children on the request of parents who are unable to take care of them and their education or due to other circumstances which force parents to keep them at children’s homes, not registering under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.